Report: Brewers' Devin Williams Out 3 Months With Back Injury; Has 2 Stress Fractures

The Milwaukee Brewers will reportedly be without one of their key pieces for the first few months of the 2024 season.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, closer Devin Williams suffered two stress fractures in his back. The injury is expected to sideline him for approximately three months, and the plan is to rehab it ahead of a potential midseason return.

Passan noted Williams visited a back specialist Wednesday. The back specialist diagnosed the injury as two stress fractures and said a full recovery is expected following six weeks of inactivity and six weeks of rehab.

There were already some question marks about Milwaukee coming into the 2024 campaign.

Manager Craig Counsell left for the division-rival Chicago Cubs, and the team also traded 2021 National League Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. The reigning National League Central champions likely would have relied on Williams a number of times to get through some of that uncertainty in the early going.

Alas, that is no longer an option.

Williams has been with the Brewers his entire career, and he has largely been excellent. He won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year during the shortened campaign and was a back-to-back All-Star during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

He posted a 1.53 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 58.2 innings last year after finishing with a 1.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 96 strikeouts in 60.2 innings in 2022.

Milwaukee will likely turn toward the combination of Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps and Abner Uribe at the backend of games with Williams sidelined as it attempts to tread water without the leader of its bullpen.

The Brewers start the regular season on March 28 against the New York Mets.